Masala Chai | Indian Masala Tea Recipe | Ezcookbook

A hot spiced cuppa with full of flavors to refresh the mind....

This milky tea(chai), lightly spiced with ginger, cardamom, cloves, pepper and cinnamon is drunk all over India. It is generally a hot beverage made by brewing tea leaves with Indian Spices and herbs. It instantly refresh the tired mind and fuel the body to boost energy. Making tea with home made chai masala brings out excellent flavors. I love to sniff the Masala chai with every sip.

I'm a great addict to tea and I cannot stay even a single day without slurping my cup of tea. What to do I had been grown up my mom in such a way. MH who never use to have coffee or tea before marriage is now screwed to tea lover by me. And now he has become a real fan for my Tea. Whenever he is at he asks me to make tea, see how I changed him.

Making homemade chai masala is as simple as with more or less Indian spices. I here used ginger, cardamom, cloves, pepper and cinnamon for masala. You can include more spices like star anise, fennel seeds. Crush all together in a mortar / processor, add to the tea. Each of these spices has special health benefits in itself.Health benefits Of Masala Chai:
Cinnamon- counteract bad breath
Black Pepper - powerful anti-oxidant
Cardamom- enhance appetite
Clove- all-round healing spice
Dry Ginger- improves digestion

Preparation & Cooking Time : 20 Minutes

YIELD : 4 cups

Ingredients:

Tea Leaves - 4-5 tsp

Milk - 2 cups

Water - 2 cups

Sugar - 4 tbsp

For Chai Masala:

Cinnamon stick - 1

Cloves - 6 no.

Dry Ginger - 1 small piece

Black pepper - 5 corns

Green Cardamom - 6 pods

Method:

1.First prepare chai masala: grind together all ingredients under "For Chai Masala" to coarse powder. Store this masala in a container and use when and as needed to make masala chai.

2.Boil 2 cups of water in a sauce pan, add tea leaves, milk and sugar. Let it comes to boiling point.Add a tsp of chai masala(or more to add more spicy) to the boiling tea and reduce the heat to low. Simmer for 5-8 minutes to let the masala flavors incorporate well .

3.Strain the tea into 4 cups and serve hot.

Note:

I always like my tea to be little thick, so use water according to your tea consistency you prefer to have.